Rum Cellar

In a move that sounds more like his latest April Fools joke, Our Illustrious Leader of Rum Imbibement, Ian Burrell sets forth today on his own Antarctic exploration to help spark the debate about water wastage and to raise money for the non-profit organization, Wine to Water. While I suspect that the local Penguins may not feel that they themselves have much of a shortage of water , I’m quite sure that they will be especially grateful for the chance to explore the delights of a few tots of rum and in fact I’m pretty sure Pingu might make more sense after a few…

“Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador, Founder and Director of The Rum Experience and UK RumFest and owner of Cottons Camden Rhum Shack & Restaurant, will be travelling thousands of miles across three continents and two oceans as well as facing the challenging conditions of Antarctica to build the worlds coldest pop-up rum shack, whilst raising money for the esteemed water charity, Wine to Water. Setting sail on 25th March, Ian will endeavour to serve the forty-strong expedition crew and local community, delicious tropical rum cocktails in sub-zero temperatures in a world first.”

“Taking the trend of innovative pop-up bars to a pioneering new level, the worlds most revered Rum Ambassador will be bringing a taste of the Tropics to the South Pole all in the name of charity, building from scratch a carefully designed pop-up rum shack where rum will be flowing, cocktails will be shaken and ice will be in abundance. Supporting this springs Wine to Water campaign, Ian Burrell will be raising money for the non-for-profit organisation focused on providing clean water to people in desperate need. Nearly 1 billion people in the world today lack access to adequate water and 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation.”

“Ian Burrell has a personal ambition to give something back. As the Global Rum Ambassador, mixing cocktails, judging competitions and travelling the world spreading the gospel of rum is a day-to-day way of life and has brought to his attention the high levels of water wasted throughout the industry. With the components of many drinks made up of over 60% of water including the abundance of wasted ice and a vast proportion discarded without being consumed, Wine For Water is the perfect organisation to help raise awareness and support the global water crisis.”

“Having spent the last 10 years spreading the gospel of rum throughout the world, visiting Antarctica seemed like the next natural step to bring rum to an entirely new destination and audience. I am thrilled to be travelling with an expedition of forty fellow adventurers to build the local community their very own pop up rum shack and for a fantastic cause. All money raised will go towards the Wine to Water campaign that will ultimately transform peoples lives by providing running clean water and raising the global water crisis. Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador”

“All of us at Wine To Water were so thrilled and honored to have Mr. Burrell choose us as his partnering charity for such an awesome campaign. In many of the countries where we work women and children have to walk hours every day to gather a life giving resource that we in the bar industry take for granted. I am certain this campaign will not only shed some light on humanities most precious resource, but it will also give us an opportunity to serve thousands more in need of clean drinking water.” Doc Hendley

While I can’t deny I’m still somewhat sceptical about the likelihood of this trip, despite the confirmation from Ian’s PR team, the reality is that at the very least, the Wine to Water campaign and its message will get additional coverage and this is only a good thing. Of course if it is for real I wish Ian all the best with his latest endeavour and hope he’s able to raise a lot of money for a great cause…